For Whom the Bell Tolls
By
Ernest Hemingway
Character Analysis
Major Characters

The term "major character" must, of course, be a subjective one. Quite often it is not a simple matter to draw a line and say these characters are major and these are minor, and such is the case with For Whom the Bell Tolls. Why, the reader might ask, is Maria omitted from the list of major characters? And where is Anselmo? The only answer is that all of Hemingway's characters are important, and these two are certainly among the most important of his minor characters. But neither of them can be considered major in relation to their contribution to the central idea represented by Jordan, Pablo, and Pilar. Maria is, simply, the symbol of love and humanity to whom Jordan finds himself becoming attached. She has no political or social feelings of her own; her only interest is in Jordan, not his ideas. And Anselmo, though he does carry an important "thematic load" through the book, is simply the representative of a particular portion of Spanish society, as are most of the other minor characters.